The Seen and the Unseen

The King’s cousin Aelfden was a priest and monk in Denmark before he came to Lothere—in part to escape a haunting past. His arrival marked the end of easy-​going Father Brandt’s dominion, which disappointed many who were accustomed to the old Saxon priest’s winking indulgence of their little sins.

Aelfden is a troubling character: half-​orthodox, half heretical, and a miracle-​worker in spite of himself. But he is the spiritual leader the residents of the “accursed valley” need—and not only the humans.

Theme: Priest and Abbot of Lothere

Rating: R (violence, horror, self-harm)

Chapters: 111
Written between May 11, 2006, and December 14, 2008.

Brede gets a shock and a letter	October 20	1077
Brede reads his letter and gets a shock	October 20	1077
The girls engage in idle talk	April 17	1078
Alred comes to talk	April 23	1078
Hilda tells of her new pet	March 15	1079
Estrid rises and falls	May 5	1079
Sigefrith returns with news for Estrid	August 3	1079
Brede sends out the dogs	October 23	1079
The Baron looks for men	September 5	1080
The Captain sees a light	September 5	1080
Father Aelfden finds his purpose	September 6	1080
Lord Leofric returns	September 6	1080
Synne is revealed	September 10	1080
Egelric tells what he knows	September 15	1080
Dunstan meets a stranger	November 5	1080
Truth comes to Father Aelfden	September 4	1081
Hilda wakes in her bed	September 4	1081
Sir Sigefrith gets some good advice	October 9	1081
Father Aelfden announces his plans	October 14	1081
Hilda understands	October 20	1081
Leofric explains	October 20	1081
Sir Sigefrith makes a confession	January 23	1082
The dawn comes dark	May 3	1082
Sigefrith has a new problem and Wynflaed a new pain	August 17	1082
Sigefrith has two ideas	August 17	1082
Sigefrith and Wynflaed hear a storm out of season	October 31	1082
Father Aelfden brings reinforcements	November 1	1082
The priests make a proposition	November 25	1082
Father Aelfden hears a strange tale	March 3	1083
Brother Myrddin tells his strange tale	March 3	1083
Dora has a question	May 3	1083
Sigefrith makes a date with a wall	September 5	1083
Father Aelfden thinks of possible explanations	October 31	1083
Dantalion is tasked	March 12	1084
Father Aelfden is sorely tried	June 17	1084
The baby is taken out of reach	December 20	1084
Catan and the elf are taken out	December 20	1084
The elf is taken out	December 20	1084
Sigefrith struggles in the snare	December 29	1084
Aelfden is answered	December 31	1084
Lar loses his fourth and last	January 6	1085
Lar visits a special prisoner	January 13	1085
Myrddin speaks to his minion	January 18	1085
Flann goes through	January 24	1085
Flann is more than sad	January 24	1085
Flann is protected	January 28	1085
The elf is assigned to read	February 4	1085
A living body is claimed	February 11	1085
Ralf learns what was not lies	February 22	1085
Dantalion is impassioned	February 23	1085
Flann slips the snare	March 4	1085
The Abbot enters the house where	March 4	1085
The Abbot makes a choice	March 4	1085
Aelfden slips the scales	March 4	1085
Catan gives an unsatisfactory reply	March 4	1085
Flann finds a fondness	March 5	1085
Dantalion gets a new task	March 6	1085
Lar meets the enemy of his enemy	June 12	1085
Darkness is upon the face	June 12	1085
Lar wishes for angels and Aelfden saints	June 12	1085
Dre takes the game a little farther	June 15	1085
Lar makes a bet with Seven	June 18	1085
Flann enters into the valley	August 12	1085
Britamund says she will	August 15	1085
Drage sends forth his minion	August 15	1085
Baldleg meets the bane of spiders	August 15	1085
Dre asks for another	September 10	1085
Aelfden explains the water and the words	September 11	1085
Aelfden does what he came to do	September 11	1085
Aelfden faces the truth	September 14	1085
Aelfden is subtly accused	September 15	1085
Lar counts to seventeen	September 15	1085
Lar counts to three	September 15	1085
Seven makes it up	September 17	1085
Lar finds a book	September 21	1085
Araphel and Dantalion make a deal	October 10	1085
Araphel is Sebastien	October 11	1085
Aelfden is tried	October 14	1085
Lar can not unsay	October 17	1085
Lar wants to learn	October 20	1085
Seven breaks the rule	October 25	1085
Lar drops a stone	October 25	1085
Araphel and Amarel are alone	November 15	1085
Aelfden is answered	November 25	1085
Aelfden takes her	November 25	1085
Araphel sees a miracle not his	November 25	1085
Araphel speaks, and Flann hears	November 25	1085
Flann makes a mew	November 25	1085
Araphel is called a coward	November 27	1085
Eithne is very sorry	December 3	1085
Eithne is sorrier still	December 3	1085
Osh wakes	December 3	1085
Aelfden falters for lack of fire	December 4	1085
Liadan sees something unseen	December 4	1085
Osh makes an uncertain offer	December 4	1085
Flann sees the secret	December 4	1085
Aelfden enters an evil hour	December 4	1085
Araphel rues the old lesson	December 4	1085
Paul sees the very color	December 4	1085
Condal does as she had done	December 5	1085
Truth will still be told	December 5	1085
Cynewulf learns how it feels	December 5	1085
Swampmoon completes his task	December 6	1085
Dantalion is steadied by the strength	December 8	1085
Flann rushes out	December 9	1085
Flann confesses	December 9	1085
Aelfden gives an unexpected answer	December 12	1085
Adalbert sees the evil	December 12	1085
Aelfden goes there below	December 17	1085
Araphel gets a fair warning	December 17	1085
Aelfden finds a Fergus for his need	December 17	1085